Holographic images have been produced using visible radiation. This invention relates to the production of holographic images using coherent X-rays, which may be produced by a synchrotron, or by lasers which produce very intense, short-pulsed, high-quantum energy radiation. With such lasers, it is possible to produce high resolution holograms of living cells in three dimensions. Moreover, it is possible to distinguish individual atomic species, and to freeze mechanical action within a cell on the time scale of picoseconds.